THE VISUAL SYSTEM: BASIC ANATOMY AND OPTICS

THE HUMAN EYE: MACRO-ANATOMY

The eye represents the interface between visual stimulus and nervous system.

Partes importantes: Iris, Pupil, Lens.

-The eye is anatomically divided in 3 concentric layers: sclera, choroid and retina.

 The anterior part of the SCLERA is transparent and called cornea. It provides two thirds
of the total refraction in the eye, due to the interface between air and a high density
tissue.
 The CHOROID is a layer very rich of blood vessels and myelin. Its anterior part is
composed by the Iris, formed by colored muscular smooth fibers circulars and radial to
a hole called Pupil. The dimension of the Pupil determines the
quantity of light that enters the eye. The antero-medial region of the
choroid is formed by the ciliary bodies. Attached to the ciliary body
are tiny fibers called zonules. The crystalline lens is suspended inside
the eye by the zonular fibers. With aging, everyone develops a
condition know as presbyopia (loss of accomodation). This occurs as the ciliary body
muscle and lens gradually lose elasticity.
 The RETINA is the actual interface between the sensory part and the Central Nervous
System, decoding the collected information into electrical impulses.

(En): Multi-layered sensory tissue lining the back of the eye. It contains millions of
photoreceptors that capture light rays and convert them into electrical impulses. These
impulses travel along the optic nerve to the brain where they are turned back into images. The
concave shape of the retina makes optical magnification constant at 3.5 degrees of scan angle
per millimeter.

(Es): Tejido sensorial multicapa que recubre la parte posterior del ojo. Contiene millones de
fotorreceptores que capturan los rayos de luz y los convierten en impulsos eléctricos. Estos
impulsos viajan a lo largo del nervio óptico hasta el cerebro, donde se convierten nuevamente
en imágenes. La forma cóncava de la retina hace que el aumento óptico sea constante a 3,5
grados de ángulo de exploración por milímetro.
THE RETINA
The macula is an area, within which a small circular pit called the fovea can be seen.

In the fovea, one type of photoreceptors called cones are densely disposed; it is the highest
visual acuity point.

The optic disk is the place where the optic nerve starts; in that point no photoreceptors are
present (blind point).

THE CRYSTALLINE LENS

It lies behind the iris. Its purpose is to focus light onto the retina.

The core, the innermost part of the lens, is surrounded by softer

material called the cortex.

The capsule is very elastic and is kept under tension by the

zonular fibers, which connect the lens capsule to the ciliary body.

THE LIGHT
The human eye is able to perceive the spectrum of visible light in the wavelength range
alpha=380(violet)-alpha=760(dark red)nm.

La mayor agudeza visual

proporcionada por el sistema
de conos (visión diurna) se
encuentra en la longitud de
onda de verde y rojo. La visión
azul es borrosa y tiene la
función de color de fondo. El
sistema de varillas que
funciona en visión nocturna es más sensible en la banda Azul/Verde. De hecho, la mayoría de
las señales brillantes y la información proporcionada por las cifras de los instrumentos (por
ejemplo, la navegación) son rojas para no deslumbrar al sistema de barras y no reducir su
visión en la oscuridad.
LIGHT TRANSMISSION THROUGH THE EYE
The amount of light that reaches the retina is function of luminance of the source,
transmittance of the eye, and dimension of the pupil.

The normal pupil ranges from 8mm to 2mm.

The transmission coefficient heavily blocks UV and violet, thus protect the retina.

At higher wavelengths, transmission is limited by the low energy of the infrared photons,
insufficient to activate receptors.

THE TASK OF VISION

- High spatial parallelism
- Chromatic perception
- Feature extraction
- Parallel “transform”
- Analysis of spatial information
- Integration of visual features
- Invariance

REIFICATION
The experienced percept contains more explicit spatial
information than the sensory stimulus on which it is based.

MULTISTABILITY
Is the tendency of ambiguous percentual experiences to pop back and forth unstably between
two or more alternative interpretations.
INVARIANCE
Invariance is the property of perception whereby geometrical
objects are recognized independent of rotation, translation, and
scale, as well as several other variations such as elastic
deformations, different lighting, and different component
features.

THE GESTALT LAWS

 Law of Conciseness: We try to experience things in the most regular, orderly, simplistic,
symmetrical possible way.
 Law of Closure: Our mind adds missing elements to complete a figure.
 Law of Similarity: Our mind groups similar elements into a single entity.
 Law of Proximity: Regional or chronological closeness of elements are grouped by our
mind, and they are seen as belonging together.
 Law of Symmetry: Symmetrical images are seen as belonging together.
 Law of Continuity: The mind continues to respond to a pattern, even after the pattern
is gone.
 Law of Common Fate: Elements with the same moving directions are seen as a unit.

REFRACTION (No se lo que es)

SNELL’S LAW
-Refraction, with the curvature of a lens surface, causes Focalization.

-The Dioptric Power (DP) grows as the focal point distance f[m] gets narrower and is given by
1/f [m-1]. The Dioptre unit [m-1] is also indicated by DS.

EYE OPTICS
THE RESOLUTION OF THE HUMAN EYE AND MAGNIFICATION FACTOR

BLURRING/BORRÓN
As a consequence of the imperfections of the eye optical system, the light of a point source
would spread over a finite region of the retina. 3 main causes of this optical degeneration:

- Spherical Aberration
- Color aberration
- Diffraction
SPHERICAL ABERRATION
Light rays are refracted more strongly by the periphery than by the center of the lens.

In order to reduce this problem the lens is flatter at its margin than at its center and it has a
higher refractive index at its center than at its periphery.

If the pupil has a small diameter the lens periphery is covered and only the center is crossed by
rays.

COLOR ABERRATION
Short wavelengths are refracted more strongly than long ones (this is the reason why a prism
separates colors).

It means that when the eye is in focus at mid wavelength (green, yellow) it is short-sighted
(miope) by up to 2 DS at short wavelength (blu, violet) and slightly far-sighted (ipermetrope) at
long wavelengths (red).

Color aberration is the reason why the eye greatly restricts the spectral window within which it
resolves fine visual details (approximately 500-700nm). The worst problems arise from short
wavelengths, blue or violet, and that is probably one of the reasons because almost no blue
sensitive photoreceptors are present in fovea and in general blue cones are only 10% of the
total.

At this point it should be clear why, driving in the night, we perfectly focus red lights, as traffic
lights, but we are strongly myopic to blue or violet signboards.

Peripheral rays, which produce spherical and chromatic aberration blur, can be blocked by pupil
constriction, which consequently increase the depth of field.

DIFFRACTION
Diffraction results from the wave nature of light and the interference these waves exert on one
another. It determines the limit of spatial resolution, or the minimum resolvable detail of any
optical system.

The larger the entrance aperture (pupil) the greater its resolving power is, because of the
reduction in diffraction blur.

So the dimension of the pupil constitutes the tradeoff between aberrations and diffraction. For
best resolving power, a pupillary aperture of 2-3 mm is desirable, which is the normal size in
full light at rest.
POINT SPREAD FUNCTION (PSF) (*NO ENTIENDO MUY BIEN)
-The PSF depends on pupil dimension.

-The wider the pupil the smaller the theoretic lens diffraction. Conversely, aberration has less
effect in a narrow pupil.

-When the image is correctly focused on the fovea, the optical blurring is perfectly matched by
the receptor density and the relevant sampling.

-In conclusion we can say that the human vision resolution is limited to 1’ of arc due to both an
“analogue” and a “digital” effect: blurring and the sampling by the receptors.

COMPOSITION OF LENSES (COMPLETAR)

The dioptric power (DP) of a lens (eye or artificial) is expressed in term of (spherical) dioptres
(also DS, Diopter Sphere).

DP=1/f[m-1] inverse of the focal distance

Convex lenses produce converging rays and have positive f and DS; concave lenses are
diverging with a negative f and DS.

Composition of lenses: The dioptric power is the harmonic sum of focal distances imposed by
two or more lenses in series:

1/ftot = 1/f1 + 1/f2 = DP1 + DP2

ACOMODATION (COMLETAR)
EYE MOVEMENTS
Eye movements can be defined by three axes of rotation, Horizontal, Vertical and Torsional and
are defined as:

-Abduction: rotates the eye away from nose

-Adduction: rotates the eye toward the nose

-Elevation: rotates the eye vertically up

-Depression: rotates the eye vertically down

-Intorsion: rotates the top of the cornea toward the nose

-Extorsion: rotates the top of the cornea away from nose

These movements are produced y six muscles: four rectus muscles an ¡d tow oblique muscles.

Movements are discharged using six neural controls:

-Active fixation system

-Saccadic System

-Smooth pursuit system

-Vergence movement system

-Vestibulo-Ocular reflexes

-Optokinetic system

TARGET=Objetivos

ACTIVE FIXATION SYSTEM

Keeps the eye on a stationary target.

This is an active system of fixation that prevents the eyes from moving. This system allows the
observer to be look at something without being distracted from other moving objects.

SACCADIC SYSTEM(Incompleto)
This system points the fovea towards objects of interest.

Our eyes explore the world in a series of active fixations connected by Saccades. Saccades are
one of the fastest movements produced by the human body.

The velocity is related to the distance from the fovea to the target; we can consciously decide
saccadic amplitude and direction, but not velocity.

Fatigue, drugs and pathological states can modify the velocity.

THE SMOOTH PURSUIT SYSTEM

Keeps moving target on the fovea. Keeps the image of a moving target on the fovea calculating
how fast the target is moving and moving the eyes accordingly. This movements are much
slower than saccades.

THE VERGENCE MOVEMENT SYSTEM

Aligns the eyes to look at target at different lengths.

VESTIBULO-OCULAR REFLEXES
Compensate for head movements. Transmits information about the head acceleration to the
vestibular nuclei in the medulla e then to higher centers.

There are two kinds of vestibular-ocular reflexes:

-Vestibular nystagmus: Resets eye position during sustained rotation of the head.

-Otolith reflexes compensate for linear motion and head deviations relative to gravity.

THE OPTOKINETIC SYSTEM

Supplements the vestibulo-ocular reflexes. Drives the eye in the direction of the image motion
that slides on the retina. It responds to very slow visual image motion and it build up slowly, so
as to provide a motion signal that can take over as the vestibular signal habituates.

THE PUPILLARY DIMENSION CONTROL SYSTEM

The retinal ganglion cell axons travel through the optic nerve to the pretectal area, which then
projects to the parasympathetic preganglionic neurons associated with the oculomotor
complex and associated midbrain.

These neurons innervate the parasympathetic ganglion cells in the orbit which, in turn, activate
the iris constrictor muscles bilaterally, resulting in the constriction of both pupils.

The dilation of the pupil is mediated by sympathetic innervation of the iris from the superior
cervical ganglion.

The pupillary preganglionic neurons, in the upper thoracic spinal cord, are under excitatory
descending control from the hypothalamus.